The Mudblood Saint
by Raven's Fury
Summary: Rain Estacado was one of the few, if not only, Muggleborn's to ever be sorted into Slytherin. Being a mudblood, she is ridiculed and taunted mercilessly by fellow students. This is her story.
1. This Is My Life

This Is My Life 

Another gloomy day. I love it. Everything outside that would normally be glowing with the brilliant sunlight is now tinted with a comforting shade of gray from the storm clouds in the sky. The faint scent of rain lingers in the air, and the light breeze sways the dew-covered blades of grass on the school grounds. Definitely my kind of day.

Not that I didn't like sunlight. I despise it. Not because it represents what many believe I'm not, and that is good, but just because it's so misleading, only showing the world for what it wasn't. Everything glowing in an unearthly manner giving the impression of what many considered happiness and joy. I prefer the darkness, it's much more welcoming and peaceful, in my oppinion.

I'm not the bad person that I'm portrayed as, just...misunderstood, to say the least. I may prefer the opposite of what "normal" wizards do, but who's to say that's a bad thing? I see things in a way others don't, but that's because I don't think of myself as ignorant compared to them. The world is not perfect, but everyone tries to think it is. They do whatever they please, not thinking of the consequences, and why? Because they are ignorant, only looking to please themselves.

I do not see myself as better than them, nor below them, but equal to them, though they refuse me. Even my own family doesn't trust me anymore. But they're muggles, they don't understand. And everyone in the Wizarding world calls me the "Mudblood Saint." Somewhat flattering that I'm different, but I don't like the riddicule from them. I welcome it. I am one of the only Slytherins whos parents are both muggles. Actually, I'm the only Slytherin who is a muggle-born. But I don't care. But you can expect the kind of treatment I get. Or what I used to get, at least.

My name is Rain Estacado, a sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was born in London to, strangely enough, a Puerto Rican mother and an English father, but I moved to Liverpool when I was six. My previous four years at Hogwarts were supposed to be Hell for me. The other Slytherins were horrible, but that's expected of them. Every year it's the same thing. "Oh, look! Saint Mudblood hasn't been ravaged by an angry mob yet!" Everone would taunt me by saying that all wizards find me a disgrace and that they would come after me someday. Absurd, but they'll do anything for a laugh, those hypocrites.

Everyone in the other houses avoid me, though I have done nothing to them. The only speak is if we have no choice, like if we're paired up for group projects in Herbology or another class. Otheriwise, no comunication whatsoever.

And the teachers...they act like I'm beneath them as well. Most of them, anyway. I'm capable of doing anything they teach me, or so I have seen, but the glory always goes to Hermione Granger, who is in most of my classes. My hand may fly up first, but nobody looks back at me. Granger is brilliant, I admit, but she's not the only person in class. She may be a muggle-born as well, but she wasn't a Slytherin muggle-born.

During my first year at Hogwarts, I made some friends on the train. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. We got along well, actually. Then after the new students gathered for the Sorting, it all changed. They were sorted into Gryffindor, which doesn't surprise me at all. When it was my turn, they expected Gryffindor for me as well. But the last thing anyone expected was hearing the Sorting Hat bellow, "Slytherin!" I remember that as if it just happened today. Everyone who knew I was muggle-born fell silent. And there was actually a large number who knew that when I asked what exactly Hogwarts was (Hey, I was young, I didn't know any better!).

But the looks that Dean and Seamus gave me I'll never forget. I can't explain them, but they were penetrating. I sat down at the Slytherin table, but I felt like I was sorted into the wrong house. But the Sorting Hat is never wrong, and I know that. There was whispering, and soon everyone knew I was one of the first muggle-borns in Slytherin. But it was all hushed when Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor. The attention was taken off of me and placed on him from then on, but nobody forgot that year. And to this day, nobody has.

And they want me to regret this so called "curse" of mine, so they attempt to bring me down. But all they do is bring themselves down. And why? Because it's pointless. If they think tearing me down makes them bigger then me, they better think again. I'm not easily intimidated, but that doesn't mean I'm not annoyed.

I mean, last year was supposed to be Hell. Everyone just had to beat me on the back of the head with thier books and throw Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and Couldron Cakes at me. Hogsmeade trips were always hard for me, since nobody let me be. Usually I would end up getting a butter beer and walking to the Shrieking Shack by myself. Sure, they'd follow me, but once I went through the gates, my tormentors would stop dead in thier tracks. I didn't fear the building; I actually loved the view of the small town below it, and the silence and shadows were peacful.

But even with all this, I enjoy who I am, and I enjoy Hogwarts. I don't care if I wake up to Pansy Parkinson's annoying voice every morning, I don't care if students whisper in the hall, and I don't care that Professor Snape bows his head in shame when I speak. I am who I am, and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.


	2. A Wonderful First

A Wonderful First

It was about Mid-October. The school year was the same as it has always been, and It was a gray sky, just how I like it. Third hour, I had Herbology. One of my favorite classes. It's a class that the Slytherins and Gryffindors share, unfortunately, so the poor souls get to put up with my wretched house. But what happened that day I will never forget.

Right after Potions, I left the dungeons and immediately headed to the Greenhouse. I was the first one there, as usual, and I sat on a work bench. Even though most of the teachers ignored me, Profesor Sprout was the only one who seemed to care. She was my favorite teacher, and she always made me feel welcome. She was the only person who did, and I liked her.

"Miss Estacado," she said, putting a book she was reading on her desk, "Early again, I see. Good girl!" I smiled. "Good to see you, Professor." I looked at some large plants covered in sheets in the corner of the greenhouse. They were moving, and faint snarls came from them. "Proffesor Sprout, what are we going to study today?" Proffesor Sprout looked up from her book and smiled. "Well, it's an interesting specimen." She said. "Really?" I asked. "What is it?" She laughed. "You'll see, Miss Estacado"  
I sighed and replied, "Great, I can't wait!" I pulled out some parchment and a quil and waited for class to begin. After about ten minutes, everyone arrived, and Profesor Sprout stood before the class, smiling broadly. "Good afternoon, class." She said cheerfully. "Good afternoon, Profesor Sprout." the class called back. "Today, we will be working with an exotic, but also very dangerous plant." She indicated the sheet-covered plants. Everyone watched them nervously, but I thought it would be interesting. Profesor Sprout walked over to the large pots and tore the sheet off. Everyone gasped. "These are the Venomous Tentacula!" she said proudly. I smiled, and watched her even more intently. She picked up a pot and set it on a table, the plants' tentacles reaching for her. "These are young, so they are smaller than a full-grown Tentacula, but they are still venomous, so I want you to be careful."

Almost everyone looked a little disgusted now. She indicated some notes up on the board and said, "I want you all to study your specimen closely. Take notes. Draw a sketch of them, and label it accordingly. I would also like you to write one and a half feet of parchment on the properties of the Tentacula's vemon, it's effects, and how wizards can benefit from it." She pulled out a folded piece of parchment and said, "You will all be working in pairs. Please, don't waste class time or tease your specimens." She started reading from the list, telling us who we were working with.

She had a Slytherin and a Gryffindor working together. Dean Thomas was paired with Crabbe, Seamus Finnigan was paired with Goyle, Ron Weasley was paired with Pansy Parkinson, and Harry Potter was paired with Draco Malfoy. But to my surprise, I was paired with Hermione Granger. Apparently, she hadn't expected it, either. everyone protested, except for her, but she was just being polite. After everyone was forced to calm down, we all got to work.  
For about ten minutes, niether I or Hermione spoke. But then she finally started to speak. "R-Rain, isn't it?" She asked. I nodded. "W-Well, since th-this is a weeklong project, I n-needed to know w-what parts of it you wanted to do." I couldn't believe it. She was stammering as if she feared I would lash out at her any moment. I figure now was my chance to show that I was human and not as nasty as the other Slytherins. "Well, what would you prefer to do? I'm fine with any of it. Whatever is most convenient for you." I replied as politely as possible. She looked at me with an akward expression then snapped out of it. "Um, okay. How about you draw and label the Tantacula drawing, and I'll study it and answer the questions?" I shrugged. "Sure." I started to draw the Tentacula, starting with its long, spiky tentacles. It was somewhat difficult since it moved a lot, but I eventually got it done.

But as I worked, Hermione sounded as if she was interested in starting a conversation. "So..." she started. "What's your favorite class?" She asked after about half an hour. "This one." I responded. "The others just don't appeal to me as much. You?" She thought about it, then replied, "I think Transfiguration or Study of Ancient Runes." I chuckled. "Eh, they're okay." I replied. She smiled weakly, then said, "Th-this is an interesting lesson." Then she looked at the board. "Well, not really a lesson...more like, independent study?" I nodded. "Yeah, something like that." I dipped my quil into my jar of ink and continued. Then I asked, "Why is it that you're speaking to me now? You never have before, even though we've had the chance to." Hermione looked surprised at the question, the looked down. "I-I don't know. You just seem...nice, I guess."

I smiled, then said, "That's certainly a compliment, especially coming from a Gryffindor." Her face went a bit red, then she said, "I don't really know. You just seem different." Ha! Finally, somebody noticed. "You're the first one to see that." I replied solemnly. She started to speak when she was interupted by loud shouting and cries. Apparently, nobody really got along with thier partner except for me and Hermione, and somebody got in a fight. Typical, but who's to say that they have to get along? My thoughts were interupted by Profesor Sprout breaking it up. "All of you, if you can't cooperate, then I want a ten page report on the properties of Tentacula Venom instead of one!" That wasn't the first time she's raised her voice at us. Slytherins plus Gryffindors never equalled anything positive.

I looked back at Hermione, who then looked back at me, and I rolled my eyes. "They're so immature." Hermione looked at me suspiciously, then I added, "Slytherins, I mean. Just can't get along." She relaxed and nodded. Then she seemed to remember what she wanted to say, but then class ended, and she stood up quickly, watching Harry and Ron, who glared at me. I turned away and picked up my things. "Well, see you." Hermione said quickly, before walking over to her friends. Harry finally turned away, but Ron glared. I shrugged at him and he wrinkled his nose. So rude.

Later at lunch, I sat at the corner of the Slytherin table, as usual, and ate slowly. Draco apparently watched Hermione and I and saw how well we got along. I heard him say, "St. Mudblood finally found a friend in another Mudblood!" I just ignored it, rolling my eyes. Draco snickered, then added, "Who would have thought. So not only is the girl a Slytherin Mudblood, but she's befriending another Mudblood, too! And Granger, what a disgrace!" I sighed with disgust and walked away. I heard laughing from the table, but I didn't have to figure out what was so funny. But as I walked past the Gryffinor table, I overheard Harry, Ron, and Hermione talking.

"I never thought I'd make it out of Herbology," Ron complained, taking a swig of Pumpkin Juice. "I mean, Pansy Parkinson just wouldn't shut up. She's a complete idiot, the girl." Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but it can't compare to Malfoy. The things he said to me, he's lucky he's not in the hospital wing. Such a loathesome, ignorant fool. He nearly got bitten by the Tentacula twice, then tried to blame it on me." Then Ron looked at Hermione, saying, "You had to work with Rain Estacado, how dreadful was it?" Hermione shook her head. "It wasn't, really. Rain seems really nice." Ron raised a brow, and Harry asked, "But she's a Slytherin, how can she be nice?" Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. I was surprised, too. I was expecting it to be awful, but it really wasn't. She was being human, which, for a Slytherin, was really odd." The three shrugged, and started talking about something else.

Finally, somebody who didn't think I was so horrible! It was a wonderful first. I couldn't help but smile as I walked to the library, where I planned to spend the rest of the lunch hour. I had a nice sketch of the Tentacula, but it wasn't very detailed, or even labelled. And since I don't have a photographic memory and couldn't remember the details of the Tentacula's physical appearcance, and since I didn't study the parts of the plant, I wanted to look it up in the library. Since I had no friends before Hermione, if you could call her a friend, I spent much of my time in the library, where I would be away from the other Slytherin idiots. They were never caught dead in here, unless they were desperate for homework references, and so I could have a break from thier jeers. Of course, others liked to make snide comments when they though I couldn't hear them and stare, but as long as they weren't in my face doing it where they know I hear it, I'm fine with it. But,I should be used to it, right?  
I walked into the library and set my bookbag beneath a table. I walked down the herbology section, where three Gryffindors and two Slytherins (Wierd!) where looking for something, probably the same thing I was, and scanned the shelf, briefly reading every title. I pulled out a couple of books, "Venomous Plants of Europe" by Norma Dalton. I kept searching, and finally came across "Venoms: Thier Effects and Uses" by Elaine Valentino, which I snatched before the others could. The book by Norma Dalton looked like an interesting read, plus it had detailed pictures of every plant specimen, and I figured that Hermione could use the second book by Valentino for her part of the work. I walked back and got my bag, then left the library with the books. The lunch hour wasn't quite over yet, so I went back to the great hall to see if Hermione was still there, but she wasn't. The whole place was nearly empty, except for some gossiping students and a couple of idiot Slytherins stuffing thier faces with desserts. (Guess who?)

I shrugged and walked out, deciding to go out on the school grounds. I walked across the grass, ignoring stares from the others who came outside as well, and sat beneath a tree beside the lake, where the Giant Squid was gracefully swaying its large tentacles above water. I reached into my bag, taking out "Venomous Plants of Europe" and looked up the Venomous Tentacula. Once I found it, I took out my Tentacula drawing and quill and began working on it. I finished the final label on the drawing and hurriedly put everything away. It became quite cold outside, and I wanted to go in. Besides, the lunch hour was almost over. I slung the bag over my shoulder and headed back inside the castle.

My next class was Muggle Studies. So easy for me, seeing as though I'm Muggle-Born. An easy 'E' in there. I very rarely needed to take notes, so it was okay. But I did have to write a foot of parchment on how to correctly use a telephone, a VCR, and a light switch. So simple, I could do it in my sleep. I still wanted to give Hermione that book, but it would have to wait until dinner, because I had no more classes with her for the day.

The rest of the afternoon passed by slowly. Soon, it was sunset, and everyone headed to dinner. I went in, hoping to give Hermione the book, but I didn't see her. I went to the Gryffindor table and up to Harry. Soon, everyone nearby was watching me, but as usual, I paid little mind. "Where's Hermione?" I asked as politely as possible. He eyed me strangely, then replied, "Why do you ask?" Of course. He doesn't trust me. Oh, well. "I just wanted to give her something, that's all." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. Harry and Ron glanced at each other, and they nodded. "She's in the library looking for a book for the Herbology homework Professor Sprout assigned." I smiled slightly. "Alright, thanks." I turned and walked away, knowing that Harry and Ron where watching me leave.

"Do you think we should trust her?" Ron asked Harry, taking a bite of his baked potato. "I mean, she could be up to something." Harry thought for a moment, then replied, "I'm not sure. It's really hard to tell with her. But you never know." He looked at the Slytherin table and frowned. "She is in Slytherin, after all," Harry looked away as Malfoy snickered at him, "But she does seem different." Ron shrugged. "I s'pose she's okay, as long as she's not up to something." He thought about this for a moment, then said, "Wait a minute. You don't think..." He looked at Harry, who set his fork on his plate. "She could be trying to..." They got up and left, walking quickly out of the great hall and towards the library.

I entered the library and quickly spotted Hermione, flipping through a large book, obviously having a difficult time searcing for the right information on the Tentacula. I walked over to her and sat down in front of her. She looked up, obviously surprised, and nervously said, "Hello, Rain." I smiled. "Hey. Having any luck?" Hermione sighed. "Unfortunately not. I remembered that there were a few different books on the uses of venoms, but they're all gone." I reached into my bag and set "Venoms: Thier Effects and Uses" in front of her."Well, I think this is one of them." She looked at the book, obviously relieved, and said, "Oh, thank you, Rain! I couldn't find a book like this anywhere!" suddenly, she looked confused. "But why did you get it?" I smiled. "I was in here this afternoon and saw other people looking for the same kind of book. I figured I may as well get it for you, since I didn't think it would be here later." She laughed and said, "Well, you were right, I couldn't find one like this anywhere!" She began flipping through the book and, after a few moments, found a section on the venom of a Tentacula.

"This is it!" she said happily, looking up at me. "Thanks again!" I smiled. "Sure thing. Oh, and by the way, I got the drawing done, so you won't have to worry about that." Hermione smiled again, and I couldn't help but smile in return. This was going good so far. What could ruin it! She looked more relieved at the though that she wouldn't have to do all the work, and started to read the section on the Tentacula. I wasn't sure what to do, so I stayed seated and looked around the nearly deserted library. A moment later, Harry walked in casually, followed by Ron, who's hand was in his robes. I knew he was clutching his wand.

I looked up at him and sighed. "Honestly, am I that big of a threat?" Ron's ears went red and he let go of the wand. As soon as I said that, Hermione looked up at Ron and Harry and said, "What are you two doing here?" Harry looked at me, then replied, "We wanted to help you find the book for Herbology." Hermione shook her head. "It's alright. Rain brought me a book. She's a lifesaver! Because otherwise, I wouldn't have anything, and chances are, I wouldn't have gotten another book like it until the last minute." Ron looked taken aback, and Harry looked at me. "Why?" he asked. I rolled my eyes. "Just because I'm in Slytherin house doesn't mean I act like the other Slytherins." I said calmly. "I was just trying to be helpful, that's all." He looked embarrassed, but stood his ground. "Helpful, is that it? Well-" he said. He bagan to finish his sentence when Hermione interupted, "Harry, just drop it! She's not doing anything wrong!" Harry sighed and said, "Alright. Sorry." I nodded. "It's fine." I replied. I stood and and turned to leave the library. I knew that Hermione's friends didn't like the idea of me being around her. I got the message. But as I made it to the door, and looked back and said, "You know, you'd be surprised at how different I am from the others. If you haven't noticed, I'm a Muggle-Born, so I can't say that I think I'm superior. A real Slytherin would think I'm slime." I sighed, then added, "And they do." Harry and Ron knew they'd hit a nerve. I walked out, annoyed with the both of them.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared after me, then looked at each other. "She has a point." Harry muttered. "Yeah." Ron added, looking at his feet. Hemione shook her head. "Just leave her alone. If she does want to do something to me, I can handle it. You two don't need to hold my hand." Ron nodded, and he and Harry walked out, leaving Hermione to work on her assignment, but also, to think about what Rain had said 


	3. My Past and Present

My Past and Future

After leaving the library, I quickly headed toward the dungeons. I was pretty annoyed with Harry and Ron for being gits, but I had more important things to do. I thought that I would get a head start on my homework, so I could have a completely free weekend. The first Hogsmeade trip was next week, so I was determined to keep my work up, even weeks before, so there would be no reason for a teacher to put me in detention or something. Professor Snape has tried that a few times, though I only got detention with him once. I hoped to avoid that again. I went down the flight of steps in the entrance hall and walked across the heavily pollished marble floor. I glanced into one of the corners and spotted Filch, cursing under his breath, as he scrubbed what looked like the remnants of a dung bomb, most likely set by some stupid first year or something. Since Fred and George left Hogwarts, and Jee Jordan the following year, Filch has been much cheerier, though there's always some idiot determined to make his life miserable. He may have been bitter and loathsome, but in a sense, I knew how he felt. Once everyone figured out he was a Squib (which happened a couple years ago), every prankster, trouble maker, and fool has been tormenting the guy. He may not be my favorite person, but I'm sure that all the torment gets to him.

I decided not to think about Filch and kept walking as he watched me out of the corner of his eye, wheezing as he finished cleaning up. I pushed open the wide wooden door the led to the dungeons and went down the stone steps. The dungeons looked like a huge stone labyrinth, and it was possible to get lost if you didn't know where you were going. Of course, I did, so that wasn't a problem. As I continued, a large group of Slytherins were standing nearby. Hoping to avoid yet another confrontation just to save some time, I ducked behind some of the stone pillars and went around them. They didn't see me.

Approaching another flight of steps, I shivered. You could tell that you were going deeper into the ground. Only Slytherins were used to this, of course. Others had no reason to come this far, for Professor Snape's classroom was a while back, far from the stone steps at the door. I checked for anyone else, but there was none. Since it was Friday and students could be out of thier dormitories later, nobody hardly hung out down here. I passed a suit of armour to the left of this flight of stairs, turned, and went down a passage hidden in the shadows beside the armor, and down yet another flight of steps to another corridor.

I have told Slytherin first years that it's easy to get lost in the dark labyrinth, and at the beginning of each year, I'm the only one besides Professor Snape or The Bloody Baron who would show them how to get down to the common room. It can be very confusing if you aren't used it it. But still, I walked down the coridor, dimly lit by torches placed in brackets on the stone walls, and, after a few moments, turned the corner at the end of the corridor to a wider passageway that sloped down, which was much more lit than the others. I went up to the end of it, and at what looked like a dead end, a large banner sporting the Slytherin Serpent, I muttered the password, which was rarely ever changed. "Pureblood."

The banner rose, as though somebody were above it, pulling it up from the top by ropes or something, to reveal solid stone. Or maybe it wasn't solid, since the stones quickly repositioned themselves, forming a passage large enough for one person to go through. I walked through and was instantly greeted by warmth, emitted by the common room fireplace. A few pillars lined the steps that you go down to enter the common room, which was actually pretty nice. Three black leather couches, squishy black armchairs, a few tables, bookshelves, a bulliten board, and a fireplace, where a large fire crackeled, lighting the dim room. An enchanted window at the end of the room gave the effect there was natural light coming in, but of course, being hundreds of feet underground, it wasn't real.

To my relief, nobody was in the common room, so I decided to go to the girls' dormitories. Beside the common room, in the shadows (Why so much darkness?) were two seperate stairways that led even deeper into the ground. To the left, the girls dormitories. To the right was the boys. I headed down the one on the left, of course, and opened the door at the end. Inside were several four-poster beds with green sheets, covers, and pillows. I opened my trunk at the foot of the bed, put my bag in, but took out some parchment and a school book. I headed back upstairs into the common room and sat at one of the tables.

It wasn't a surprise that there was nobody in the common room. Like I said, nobody stays here on Friday night. So I enjoyed the time alone while it lasted, finishing an assignment for Transfiguration, then doing my paper for Muggle Studies.

"To operate a telephone, you pick it up from the reciever and, depending on who you want to call, press the numbers on the reciever, or even on the phone itself, and wait for it to ring. Different muggles have different phone numbers, so to call somebody, you punch in thier phone number. In order for the phone to work, you need a phoneline, which provides service to the phone. In an instant, this phoneline sends your call through to whoever is recieving the call. Using a telephone does cost money, so the ammount of time you spend talking can be critical, depending on how often you call. Also, calling somebody who lives out of your area costs extra, so 'long distance calls' as they are known, can be costly, also depending on the amount of time you spend talking."

I read and re-read that paragraph. For some reason, it didn't sound right, so I decided to revise it. But as I began working on that, I heard the entrance to the common room opening. Well, there went my perfect study time. I watched to see who it was, and saw Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson come in, holding hands, with Crabbe, Goyle, and some of Pansy's friends, Alicia DeWitt, Joanna Marsh, and Tara Nichols, following behind. "Oh, great." I muttered as they poured in. It didn't take long for Pansy and Draco to notice me. They looked at each other, and at thier posse, and snickered. They were going to have some fun tonight.

"Alright there, Estacado?" Pansy called to me in her shrill, annoying voice. How Draco could stand her, I don't know, but then again, he was also a stupid git, just like the rest of them. I rolled my eyes and finished editing my work. "Fine, and you?" I answered dully. They burst out laughing, though I don't know why. They surrounded my table, Pansy, Draco, and Alicia sitting down in the three remaining chairs, and Joan, Terra, Crabbe, and Goyle surrounding the table. Perfect, I was cornered. This was going to be hell.

I felt slightly uncomfortable with Tara and Joanna, easily two of the strongest Slytherins, standing right behind my chair on either side, but I shook it off. Natachia leaned forward a bit and sneered, looking at me from the corner of her eye before snatching my parchment. "What is this, Estacado? A loveletter to that Mudblood?" I snatched the parchment from Terra, tearing the corner off, which she still clutched. "No, it's for Muggle Studies." Joanna gave me strange look, though still smiling. "Muggle Studies? You're a Mudblood for crying out loud, you don't need to take that rubbish!" I sighed. "I'll take it if I want, thank you." Tara placed her cold hands on my shoulder. I shivered, one because they were cold, and two, because I was starting to get nervous with her and Joanna behind me. Not that I really cared, but, you know, I didn't really want to get beat up, either.

"Is that so?" She challenged. I ignored her, but suddenly, her grip tightened, squeezing a pressure point and causing me to flinch from the sharp, unexpected pain. This sent them into a small fit of laughter. "Aw, did that hurt, Mudblood?" she jeered, releasing the hold, but keeping her hand rested on my shoulder. I shook my head. "Just took me by surprise is all." Joanna looked to Pansy, who nodded. Joanna smiled and said, "Well, we can't just take you by surprise, can we?" She placed both hands on my shoulders. I knew what was coming, it happened every once in a while.

"Why does it matter?" I questioned, looking around at the other Slytherins. Draco frowned. "What are you talking about? You don't matter to us!" he said. I scoffed, saying, "Like I haven't already figured that out!" He sneered. "That's good, Mudblood. I'm glad you picked up our message." I already knew what was going to happen, so I just went ahead and said it. "Go to Hell, Draco! Pansy! All of you!"

The next several moments were incredibly painful. Joanna wrapped her arms around my neck and dragged me to the the floor. Tara grabbed my legs to hold them down, but not before I kicked her in the jaw. Alicia went for my arms, but I pulled out my wand and quickly cried, "Rictusempra!" and she flew back several feet, crashing into the stone wall. She slid down, holding her head, crying out in agony, but quickly got up, grabbed her wand and came back, furious. Joanna held onto my neck and squeezed tighter. I found myself unable to breath, and was blacking out quickly. But she let go and I took a deep, raspy breath as I struggled to sit up. I started to cough until Alicia hit me with a Flipendo jinx. I flew back into the cold, stone floor and lost my breath. Draco and Pansy watched, incredibly amused, as Alicia, Joanna, and Tara ook part in beating me, using magic and thier own physical strength.

It finally ended after another minute or so. I was slammed into the wall, then Alicia, Tara, and Joanna backed off, snickering. The common room opened again, and more students entered, followed by the Bloody Baron. As soon as they saw him, Draco and his goons scattered, knowing that the Baron would fetch Professor Snape.

And they were right. As I lay there on the floor, chuckling at my own misfortune, the Slytherins circled around and pointed, laughing at me. I didn't really care, though. It's happened before. The Bloody Baron hovered above us, to see what was going on, and his eyes widened with anger when he saw me. "What is this?" he bellowed. His icy gaze went around the room. "Somebody attacking a fellow Slytherin?" The Slytherins scoffed and called back, "She's no Slytherin! She's a Mudblo-" "Silence!" The Bloody Baron cried. Everyone fell silent. "I shall retrieve Professor Snape. But in the meantime, nobody touch her! We'll find out who's responsible here." He hovered away, muttering about how disgraceful this was, and everyone waited until he was through the stone wall to laugh. I laughed with them. I must have been a pathetic sight. A they jeered and mocked me, I painfully got to my feet and walked around the crowd. To my surprise, they let me through, and I left the common room.

I painfully made my way down the corridor, up the stairs, and past the suit of armor when I heard voices. I ducked into the shadows as the Bloody Baron came back with a furious Professor Snape. "Again?" He said, looking at the Baron as he quickly went down the steps. "Yes, sir." The Baron replied. "This is unacceptable." Snape spat, obviously annoyed at having to come down and "rescue me." This wasn't the first time this has happened, and although Snape disliked me, it was his duty has head of Slytherin house to stop these kind of things from happening.

As I heard thier voices fade, I headed up the next flight of steps. It was difficult, for I felt tired and weak, but I made it. I passed through the "labyrinth" and went up the last flight of stairs and left the dungeons. I stood at the foot of the steps in the entrance hall, thinking about where to go, then, I decided to do one of my favorite things. I enjoyed heading to the library at night so I could read in private, so I headed to the library. I had gone there so many times, I needn't pay attention where I walked; my feet knew where to go. After going a few floors up and avoiding Prefects who stood watch in the dark, not to mention evading Filch, I made it there. I pulled the library door open and slinked in, careful not to make any noise.

Moonlight shone through the windows, and the view outside was wonderful. I walked over to a large mirror set by the door and looked at myself. My robes had a couple of tears, my lip was bleeding, dried blood dripping from that cut and a surprise gash on my forhead. The usual bumps and bruises. My back hurt, as well as my shoulders. Too bad, so sad. I sighed and decided to find a book on healing charms. I couldn't go to the hospital wing this late, and frankly, I didn't want to. I'd rather take care of myself, instead of having somebody else do it for me. I found a book and flipped it open. I found a simple charm for healing cuts, but then I realized I forgot my wand. Brilliant on my part. So I sat there, staring blankly at the book, when I heard a noise. The library door was opening. As quickly as I could, I tried to hide in the shadows of the bookshelves, but too late; I was spotted.

"Who's there?" They asked. I gulped and turned back. "Rain." I replied softly. "Rain Estacado." I bowed my head, thinking I had been caught by a prefect, but then, the person replied, "Rain?" I looked up. I hadn't recognized the voice, but now I saw, to my intense relief, that it was Hermione Granger. "H-Hermione?" I asked, stepping closer. "What are you doing here?" Hermione just looked at me. "I was about to ask you the same thing." I chuckled. "Just wanted to enjoy a little late night reading. You?" She smiled. "Same." Then she noticed my cuts, and the way I was standing. "Rain, you look aweful, what happened?" she exclaimed. I laughed again. "Draco and his little girlfriend decided to sick thier attack dogs on me." She gasped. "Those foul, loathsome-" "It's alright." I interupted. "I-I'm used to it by now." I saw down in a chair at a table and took a deep breath. My chest also hurt, like I had just ran 10 miles non-stop in the heat. Hermione took a seat across from me and fixed her eyes on the sore cuts on my face.

"How could they?" She asked quietly. "That's just how it is." I said, yawning. "They hate me, I hate them, I let them know it, and they lose thier tempers. Simple as that." Hermione shook her head. "But that was uncalled for." I smiled. "It's fine, really...by tomorrow, I'll be okay." She pulled her wand out. "At least let me help you." I didn't want her to, but I didn't object, just said, "Thanks. left my wand in the common room, so I couldn't heal myself." Hermione pointed her want at me and muttered the same charms I read about in the book. First, my lip, which stung like hell, was suddenly healed, the skin on either side closing the wound back up. She did the same to my forhead. For my bruises, she could do little, but she used some kind of complicated charm I hadn't heard of before to put heat on my back. It felt like I was laying on a heat pad. It was soothing. She pointed at my robes and muttered, "Repairo" and fixed the tears. I felt a lot better.

"Wow, thanks." I muttered. She nodded. "Sure thing." She still looked disgusted. "How could they do that? I mean, that was horrible..." she trailed off. "Like I said, that's just how it is. I was cursed to be sorted into Slytherin, but this curse is my life, so I just deal with it, whether I like it or not." Hermione bit her lip, looking at her hands, which she had folder in front of her. "It's just so cruel." Again, I laughed. I knew she didn't understand why I was laughing. "So they're a bunch of bastards. I'm one of them." Hermione shook her head, looking up at my moonlit face. "No, you're not. No way. I mean, I can't believe you were sorted into Slytherin! You're so different." I sighed. "I guess it's because of who I am. What my life has been like." Hermione's face became more calm. "Do you want to talk about it?" I shrugged. "Not really, but I can." She started to say I didn't have to, but I cut her off.

"See, I'm not full Brit. My mom is Puerto-Rican and my dad is English. They're not the best of people. Rather neglectful if you ask me, in an "I don't care about my daughter at all" way. Made a good amount on money selling narcotics, my parents did." Hermione's eyes widened. I doubted she expected to hear that. That's not something you hear in a place like Hogwarts every day. "We moved to Liverpool when I was six because the authorities were after them, or something like that...I'm not entirely sure. But, simply put, they've never really been there for me. Sure, they fed and clothed me, but that was it. Punishments were harsh, and my fathers' beatings, which I got often, were cruel. But I learned to deal. Not willingly, though."

Hermione's eyes started clouding with tears. I took a deep breath, trying to ignore this, then said, "When I got my letter from Hogwarts, I was excited. I thought, 'Maybe I can live my life without them there!' I hoped it would be great. But it wasn't, really. My parents hated the idea of magic, even though my mother practiced Santeria and did thier stupid rituals. They didn't like the idea of me learning magic, and told me not to go. I, of course, refused to accept that, and in the end, got my way. But for a price."

"Coming here cost me my parents, for they decided that I was no longer thier daughter. They were ashamed, those hypocrites, but I just don't get why. But I got my wish, and now I'm here." Hermione was silent for a few moments, then said, "That was just...my god..." I rolled my eyes. "It's no big." Hermione looked exasperated. "Of course it was! That's horrible! And you aren't angry at them?" I just shrugged. "I don't think so." She shook her head. "That's just aweful!" I looked out the window, thinking about her question. "You aren't angry at them?" It kept ringing in my mind. I wasn't angry at them...was I? I didn't think so. But one never knows.

Hermione remained with me for several hours. We talked about our lives, what we liked, that kind of thing. It was so different for me since I never had anyone to talk to like that. But it was comforting, and I found myself much happier then I had been for days. Our conversation ended when the sun slowly began to rise, its' light coming out from behind the Forbidden Forest. "I can't believe we've been here this long!" Hermione said, looking at her watch around her wrist. I nodded. "Yeah. Been here all night." She looked at me and said, "I think we should leave. Just so nobody thinks we've been out all night. We can talk again later?" I shrugged and replied, "Sure, that sounds okay."

We stood up, and I realized that the heat was long gone, and that my back no longer hurt. "Ah, I feel better. Thanks, Granger." She smiled again and looked at the faint marks on my lip and forhead. "Sure. You healed up good, I see." I had to laugh, since I remembered how I felt hours before. We walked to the door, and out into the dimly lit corridor. "Okay, well, see you later." Hermione said. "Yeah, later." We turned and walked in opposite directions. She headed towards one of the towers, and I was going to the dungeons. This had been a good night, but now, I wanted to sleep, even if I only slept for an hour or so.

I managed to get back into the Common Room without anyone seeing me. Well, except for Peeves, but I was able to run away before he was able to drop a heavy looking chest on my head. I went down the many corridors and finally got to the entrace to the common room, I cleared my throat and said, "Pureblood." The stones opened and I went in. As I walked across the deserted room and went to the girls dormitories, I heard voices coming from behind the door. I decided to eavesdrop on the conversation in case it was something interesting. I put my ear to the door and listened, careful not to make any sound. "Can you believe the mudblood?" Somebody jeered. I recognized the voice as being Pansy Parkinson's. I knew she was talking about me, so I listened carefully, trying to catch every word. "Trying to stand up to us. Honestly, the git doesn't know what's coming to her." Hmm. I found this interesting. I kept listening as another voice said, "But don't you think she'll tell Professor Snape about this?" The voice belonged to Alicia. "She better not. Unless she has a death wish." The replying voice was Joanna. "At least Snape couldn't figure out who did it to her. And if she ran off before he could see her, he can't do much." This voice was Tara's.

So, Snape didn't figure out who it was that attacked me, huh? It should have been obvious. I mean, who beats on me more than any other Slytherin? Ha! Dumb old bat...Anyways, I decided I had heard enough and started to walk to the common room, when I heard Pansy say, "So, are we going to do it today?" Do what? I knew I had to hear this.

"You mean the hexes?" Joanna replied. Pansy scoffed. "Yes, what did you think I was talking about?" Joanna laughed and said, "Sorry. But I can't wait so see how the mudblood reacts to four different hexes and jinxes!" Hmm...her wording sounded a little odd. 'Hexes and jinxes?' why not just 'spells?' Oh well. But, at least I knew to keep a heads up. They were planning something. I kept listening, and heard Tara said, "Okay. So Tara will do the Flipendo jinx, Alicia will do the Bat Bogey hex, Pansy will do a Tarantallegra jinx, and I'll do a Rictusempra jinx and send her flying into the lake with the giant squid!" They laughed, and Pansy said, "I'd love to see her try to swim with her legs kicking around everywhere!"

This was going to be interesting. But I had concocted a quick little plan of my own. All I could do was wait and see if it would work. This would be interesting. I decided to listen a bit longer and heard Amanda say, "When should we do it?" Pansy thought for a moment, then replied, "How about this afternoon, after lunch? The mudblood is probably planning on sitting under that tree by the lake, as usual." They all agreed, then started talking about other things that were unimportant to me.

I headed back up to the common room and sat in an armchair by the fireplace. I wasn't at all drowzy now, so I just sat there and waited until my fellow Slytherins woke up. Within an hour, they started waking up, and as they walked into the common room, pointed and laughed at me. I had to admit, what happened the previous night was pretty funny, but thier jeers were pretty annoying. I ignored it and decided to go up to the Great Hall for breakfast. I never particularly enjoyed mealtime, since I was forced to eat with the rest of those barbarians, but what else was I going to do? I stopped sneaking food ages ago. Oh, well.

As I walked into the entrance hall and went into the Great Hall, Professor Snape was standing by the door, obviously waiting for me. I sighed and walked up to him, thinking about what to say. He frowned and said, "May I ask where you were after last night's fiasco?" Here we go. "I just took a walk around the school." I replied. He raised a brow. "Really? Then how is it that you didn't get caught?" I shrugged. "Beats me." He started to look annoyed now. "Well, do you mind telling me who it was that attacked you?" He asked. "According to the Bloody Baron, when he came into the common room last night, he saw you bloodied and beaten, and a group of students standing gawking at you." I shrugged. "Just some people who decided it would be fun to bother me, that's all."

He sighed and said, "Miss Estacado, tell me who did this to you? Because I'll remind you that violence and arrogance shall not be tollerated in Slytherin house." As I pondered what to say, I saw Pansy and her group of friends walk by. She caught my eye and gave me a dirty glare. I smiled. "I'll tell you who did it." Pansy heard this and stopped in her tracks. "It was them." I pointed at her group. Professor Snape turned and saw as they tried to run away. "Come back here!" He ordered, causing several students nearby to turn their heads and watch. They turned and came back reluctantly, glaring at me. "Come with me." Snape told them. He turned and walked back towards the dungeons, with Pansy and her posse following. Pansy turned to look at me and mouthed something. I'm not sure what she said, but I think it was something like, "You're going down, Mudblood." Ooh. Scary 


	4. The power of Acromantula Venom

Acromantula

I continued into the Great Hall, amused, and sat down at the Slytherin table. I was greeted by the stares and snickers of others. Everyone knew that Saint Mudblood got beaten up again. I just shrugged it off and started eating. After finishing my toast, eggs, and kippers, I decided to continue outside, to wait until classes started. The first class of the day today was Charms, which Slytherins took with the Ravenclaws. Ravenclaws didn't seem to despise me as much as the other houses, but they didn't trust me, either. We were to study the same Healing spell that Hermione had used on me, Episky. Sitting at my usual spot by the lake under the tree, I spotted a Ravenclaw walking along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. This girl was none other than Luna Lovegood. I watched her curiously as she simply wandered around, apparently looking for something. I decided to walk over to her and see what she was doing.

"Can I help you with something?" I said as I walked up to her. Luna looked at me blankly, then smiled. "You're Rain, aren't you? The Slytherin Muggle-born?" I smiled. She knew who I was. "Yes, I am." Luna nodded. "Thought so. I heard about you, that you got beaten up last night by some nasty Slytherins." I stared at her strangely, wondering how the news of my attack had spread so quickly, then nodded. "Yeah." Luna looked at me intently and said, "I heard it was really bad, but you don't look hurt." I looked down at my repaired robes and smiled. "Oh, well, Hermione Granger took care of my wounds for me last night." Luna nodded, then said, "Well, that's good. Hermione is a nice person. Narrow-minded," She added, "but nice." I shrugged. "Yeah." she sighed and said, "I just can't find my shoes again. They keep going missing. I suspect Nargles, but it may be a Blibbering Humdinger as well, they like to hide things. They live on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, so I wanted to see if they were here." I just stared at her. Now I knew why they called her "Loony" Lovegood.

"Do you want me to help you find them?" I asked. Luna smiled and shrugged. "That would be nice." I followed her as she went along, glancing here and there, seeing no signs of her shoes or Blibbering Humdingers. But as we went a little further into the woods, I thought I saw something in the trees. A dark figure was watching us, or so it felt. "Luna?" I said. "Don't you get the feeling we're being watched?" Luna shook her head. "Not really. Maybe a Nargle?" I shoo my head. "No. It's something else." Luna shrugged. "Oh well, no shoes here. I suppose we had better get to Charms, no need to make Professor Flitwick angry." She began to walk away, but I continued to scan the trees. She turned back to me and said, "Aren't you coming, Rain? We have that class together." I looked away from the trees and shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Let's go."

As we walked out of the Forbidden Forest and back to the castle, I couldn't help but wonder what was out there. I decided it wasn't important at the moment and just kept walking. Luna made for great company as we made the long trek through Hogwarts to the Charms classroom. She was very outgoing and intelligent, if not just a bit odd. As we walked into class together, Draco and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle glared at us. "Will you look at this!" Draco said loudly. "First Granger, now Loony! Next you'll be hanging out with Longbottom." The Slytherin's snickered, but I just rolled my eyes. "They're quite rude, aren't they?" Said Luna, before she took her usual seat in the front row. I took mine in the row behind her and sighed. "Don't I know it."

During the class, I was hit in the back of the head by several wads of parchment and a couple chocolate frog fragments. Professor Flitwick was too busy teaching us how to use Episky to notice any of the torment, but that's alright, I didn't care very much. During the middle of class, Alicia, Tara, and Joanna walked in looking outraged, followed by Pansy and professor Snape. "Excuse thier lateness, Filius. They were in my office." As Snape turned to leave, he stopped and added, "On second thought, don't. They aren't excused for what they did." He swept through the door and disappeared. Pansy and her annoying posse sat down and ignored the lecture from Professor Flitwick. They were too busy keeping thier fiery gaze on me. But I wasn't worried. In fact, I knew exactly how to deal with them. I may not have been able to fight back when they attacked the previous night, but I am a very capable duelist. I would have been able to fight properly had I not been put in a headlock.

During class, I thought about how I would get my revenge. I didn't usually like to fight back, but I decided enough was enough. Then I firgured out what to do. I waited until lunch, then went out to my spot under the tree. I sat there cross legged and waited. After a bit, they made thier way over. I smiled as Tara and Joanna raised thier wands. I was faster, though, and cried, "Expelliarmus!" before they knew what happened. I then used all of the jinxes they planned on using on me, on them. They were sloppy, and could do nothing to stop me. I used flipendo on Tara, which sent her flying into the lake. I sent a Tarantallegra jinx at Pansy, which caused her legs to flail around madly. Rictusempra sent Joanna into a tree, and before I could jinx Alicia, she ran away, into the forbidden forest. Making a big mistake, I followed her.

Unable to see her in the thick brush, I illuminated my wand and began to look around for her. "Oh Alicia," I called, "Come out and play!" Soon, I heard screaming, and Alicia ran from behind a large tree. She flew past me and took off. As I turned to follow her, I was shoved to the ground. Above me was a giant spider, the most terrifying thing I had ever seen. This is what I saw earlier. But what was an Acromantula doing this close to the forest's edge? It was then I realized we went very far into the forest. I began to panic, then I ran. The Acromantula was faster, however, and knocked me down before biting my shin. Feeling it's venom pulse through my veins was excrutiating. I felt my leg burn, and I raised my wand and cried, "Stupefy!" The Acromantula instantly stopped moving and I took the opportunity to scramble away.

Crawling from the brush and into the sunlight, I saw Tara and Joanna pulling Pansy, who's legs still flailed, back to the castle. Alicia was already long gone. I sent up a distress flare, hoping somebody would notice, and to my great relief, somebody did. The gameskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, saw the flare come from my wand and hurried from his cabin to my side."Blimey, what happened to yeh?" He asked, seeing the tear in my stockings and my swelling leg. "I got bitten by...acromantula!" I cried, as I started to pass out. Asking no questions, he scooped me up in his large arms and took me across the grounds to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing. It was then that I blacked out. 


	5. Did I mention I hate spiders?

I awoke three days later in the hospital wing. By my bedside was a get well card from Luna (Which had a Nargle drawn on it) and some chocolate frogs from Hermione. I sat up, my leg throbbing painfully, and smiled at them. I actually had visitors. Madam Pomfrey saw me awake and hurried over. "You're finally up! We were afraid you may not make it." She pulled a small bottle from her robes and handed them to me. "Acromantula Antivenom. Drink it." she said. I took the bottle and drank its contents, which was cool like ice water. "I managed to extract some of the Acromantula venom before it was too late." said Madam Pomfrey. She gestured to a bottle on my bedside cabinet which was filled with amber liquid. "I saved it so it could be used to make more antivenom, it's very hard to come by. Dumbledore had to go find it, we don't keep it in store." She walked off and let me be.

About an hour later, Hermione came in with Luna. "You're awake!" Hermione said, smiling. "Thank goodness." Luna smiled and said, "I'm so glad to see you're awake." I nodded. "Thanks a lot, you guys. I'm glad somebody cared." Then I decided to look at my leg. Lifting the blanket off me, I saw two black punture wounds on my swollen shin. Hermione winced, but Luna said, "It could have been worse." I nodded again and said, "I know." As an afterthought, I added, "What did they do about Pansy and the rest of those idiots?" Luna shrugged. "They came in, everyone laughed at Pansy's legs kicking everywhere, and they were counterjinxed by Professor McGonagal. Did you jinx Pansy?" she asked. I nodded. "Yeah, in retalliation to thier attacking me." Hermione shook her head. "There are better ways to deal you know. Things went pretty badly as a result of that." I looked at my swollen leg. "Tell me about it."

A week later, I was let out of the hospital wing. When I first returned to the slytherin common room, I was greeted immediately by the jeers and taunts of my fellow Slytherins. "You really are a stupid Mudblood, aren't you?" Draco said loudly. "Getting bitten by an Acromantula? How incredibly idiotic!" I looked at him and said, "Need I remind you about the time you stupidly got attacked by that Hippogriff?" Everyone booed at me. Draco gave me a dirty look, muttered, "Filthy Mudblood..." and turned away. I went into the girls dormitories and headed to by bed, which was covered with Pansy's stuff. I threw it all on the floor, kicked it under her bed, and laid down on my own. After a few minutes, I was asleep.

As usual, I awoke to Pansy's shrill, annoying voice. "Why did you throw my stuff on the floor last night?" She said, sounding royally pissed. I sighed, and, without opening my eyes, replied, "Because it was on my bed, you stupid git." I felt a hand grab my arm, and was jerked up. I opened my eyes and saw Tara holding me. I instantly pulled out my wand and placed it to her throat. "Unless you want me to cut your throat open, I suggest you let me go." I said calmly. She knew I knew the Sectusempra curse, a secret spell only known by Slytherins. She let go, and I put my wand away. "You really think you're all that, don't you, Mudblood?" said Joanna, who crossed her arms. "No, but you do." I said. Then I got up and, realizing it was morning, I got ready to go to breakfast.

I ate my usual kippers, eggs, and toast, then went out to my spot by the lake before class started. I went to charms when it started (Where we studied Avifors, a charm that turns objects into birds), then met up with Hermione on my way to Herbology. We recieved an "E' for our Tentacula essay and drawing, which was better than anyone else got (Obviously because Hermione and I got along). I went to lunch at lunchtime, grabbed an apple from a fruit bowl on the table, then went out to my spot by the lake. It was getting near the Holidays, and I would soon be mostly alone. Since most Slytherins left for Christmas, I could be alone. The holidays were always my favorite for that reason. With Christmas only a few weeks away, soon everyone would be gone and I could rest peacefully for once. 


End file.
